Purposeful Stuff: Students of life

As we all adjust to full-time #WFH, our team has been reading, viewing, and listening. A lot. Even more so than usual.

This installment of Purposeful Stuff takes our mission and applies it to six digital deliveries of things that impact, teach, and delight us. Because right now we can all use a little more delight in our lives.

We chose six, in no particular order, because it feels “right sized” for us, as does our irregular delivery.

One:

Every Saturday, CNN’s The Good Stuff compiles some of the best feel-good stories and do-good efforts happening right now. Not surprisingly, the past few weeks have focused on the everyday heroes in our communities sprinkled with a bit of levity. The Vermont community that stepped up to support the school janitorial team; 7-year-old Cavanaugh Bell and his mom who deliver care packages and hot meals to the elderly in their Maryland community; and shameless cute animal videos of otters and a slow loris.

Two:

Thrive has become even more relevant during this time of stay-in-place and #WFH. With tons of content to help individuals and communities improve their well-being, it aligns well with the work of Cohere (formerly DMB Community Life). Right now, the daily emails are focused on sharing habits to help all of us navigate these tough times – conversation starters to stay connected with loved ones, and staying sane and healthy now, and  mindfulness exercise to relieve stress.

Three:

Suzanne and I let out small squeals when our monthly dose of Liz and Mollie arrives in our inboxes. These two create super cute illustrations and storylines to express the emotions we all feel at work. And they nail it. Follow them on Instagram @lizandmollie

Four:

Happyify curates joyful things on the daily with the intent of boosting optimism, energy, and confidence. We’ve felt the lift to our spirits that comes from delivery to our inboxes of virtual concerts by the French National Orchestra, and short films like this one about giving and receiving, and helpful resources like these tips to mindfully calm your anxiety, as well as daily inspirational quotes (like the one pictured with this blog).

Five:

We have several sports fanatics on our team. Baseball is a particular favorite. Scott gets Win Your Day, daily tidbits of inspirational messages from Steve Gilbert, baseball writer for MLB covering the Arizona Diamondbacks. Somedays the message hit home. Like this goodie from April 14 in honor of Jackie Robinson Day – ask yourself, am I in the game, or am I sitting in the grandstand?

Six:

TED is devoted to spreading ideas, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or less).  You can cruise through their online library and subscribe to recommendations based on your passions and interests. There’s just so much good stuff that it’s hard to choose favorites, but here’s a few: Shawn Achor’s, The Happy Secret to Better Work (he also has a great book, Big Potential); Brene Brown’s, The Power of Vulnerability (she has too many great books, workshops, blogs and podcasts to name – we adore all of it!); Priya Parker’s, Creating Meaningful Connections While Apart.

Bonus:

In our first installment of Purposeful Stuff, we mentioned our pals at Holstee. Each Monday morning Mike and Dave send Reflections by email to help each of us live more fully and meaningful lives. The April 13 eblast resonated with Eckert Tolle’s interpretation of the world we are living in now: “per aspera ad astra” which translated means “through adversity to the stars” highlighting the essential function of obstacles in forcing humanity to generate more strength, energy or consciousness.

Our team receives and shares a lot of good and purposeful stuff. Through a series we call, “Purposeful Stuff,” we are curating these goodies to share more broadly.